GM to Put 4G WiFi in Most Vehicles by 2014

Partnership with AT&T will bring new tech to market

The largest U.S. automaker, General Motors (NYSE:GM) will be bringing 4G to its cars next year.

The automaker is partnering with telecom AT&T (NYSE:T) in the project, reports Bloomberg. The two will be using GM’s OnStar technology to offer 4G LTE service across the company’s U.S. 2015 models.

The new system will take OnStar — and its current 6 million subscribers — beyond the already recognized providing of emergency services and navigation. Cars with 4G LTE enabled will be able to provide wifi hotspots and maintain even streaming video connections while the system is live.

“This is a big deal. They want to actually have embedded connectivity in their connected vehicles rather than relying on a mobile phone going forward, that’s a pretty big shift in terms of where other vehicle manufacturers are today,” analyst Thilo Koslowski told Bloomberg.

The new connection has only been announced for U.S. and Canadian cars. GM hopes to make similar announcements for other markets in the next several months.